State Denies Fpl's Bid To Burn New Fuel

Citing environmental concerns, Gov. Lawton Chiles and the Cabinet have denied Florida Power & Light's application to convert a Manatee County power plant to a Venezuelan fuel called Orimulsion.

Orimulsion is a mix of water and naturally occurring bitumen that is priced similar to coal but has the handling and burning characterisitcs of oil. The cabinet denied Florida P&L certification to burn Orimulsion by a 4-to-3 vote, Chiles' cabinet aide Danny Fuchs said. The company can appeal to the District Court of Appeal, he said.

Had its bid been successful, FPL would have been the first U.S. power generator to import the controversial fuel. It is marketed as a low-cost alternative fuel by Bitumines Orinoco SA, a unit of Venezuela's state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA.

Fuchs said the debate on FPL's application lasted about 41/2 half hours and that "each of the members had an agonizing time" making a decision. April Herrle, a spokeswoman for Chiles, who she said led the charge against FPL's application, said, "The governor said because there is not an energy crisis or this huge need to create additional capacity, it really comes down [to FPL) saving a small amount of money, versus protecting the people and the environment."

Environmental groups, including the Florida chapter of the Sierra Club, have opposed the application on environmental grounds.

An environmental study sponsored by FPL found that an Orimulsion spill would not be more damaging to the environment than a spill of the fuel oil that is currently burned by the Manatee plant. And the company has insisted that despite Orimulsion's high-sulfur content, the use of scrubbers and precipitators would actually allow the converted plant to improve local air quality.